Choosing Your Home Heating System

When you own a house, it is of great likelihood that you will have some type of home heating system. What kind you have and how much you use it may depend on what part of the country you live in. There are several kinds, but the most common in the United States are radiant steam and forced air. There are several advantages and disadvantages of each type that you need to be aware of when you are looking to purchase a new residence.

The most common type is forced air. The main parts of it are usually housed in a furnace and sent through a series of ductwork to registers in the floors, ceilings, or walls in the various rooms of the house. The fuel may come from one or a combination of several sources including natural gas, oil, and electricity, depending on what is available in your region. There are several advantages to this type of home heating system. These include filtering the air so that your family may breathe cleaner air in your home and the ability to humidify and dehumidify the air so that you can control its moisture. It is also fairly inexpensive compared to other types and you can get high energy efficiency. There are several disadvantages however. These include the miles of ductwork needed in ceilings and walls. The fans can often be noisy, and it must be filtered and maintained on a regular basis to keep it running properly and keeping allergens to a minimum.

The other most common type of home heating system is steam radiant. These are not often used in newer construction, but are quite common in homes and other buildings that were built before the 1950s. These are characterized by large cast iron radiators that stand up in rooms throughout the house. These can be either several pipes or a single pipe which water travels through and is heated, therefore, filling the entire room with heat. The boilers for these can be fueled by natural gas, oil, or electricity.

Just as with forced air, there are some advantages to this type of home heating system also. These include the ability to warm the rooms more quickly and efficiently. They also provide a higher level of comfort than others, and many of the older systems can now be replaced with newer, more efficient ones. However, there are also disadvantages as these radiators can be ugly, the locations of these radiators can make furniture placement difficult, and it can make central air installation harder because separate ductwork is needed and installing that can get quite expensive.

A good home heating system can make or break your comfort any season of the year. The kind you put in your residence depends on your region’s availability. It does not need to break your budget.